• We apologize for the somewhat convoluted sign-up process. Due to ever-more sophisticated attacks by chatbots, we had to increase our filtering in order to weed out AI while letting humans through. It's a nuisance, but a necessary one in order to keep the level of discourse on the forums authentic and useful. From the actual humans using WCP, thanks for your understanding!

Mount kayak to building

VanIslePaddler

Paddler
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
620
Location
Tuff City
Hey folks! Hoping to tap into the collective wisdom of the group.

I need to mount a kayak to the side of a building (advertising purposes) . Any creative ideas on how to do it nicely?


And yes, I can drill holes through the boat.
 
That's going to make it a lot harder to handle in surf. :wink:

I'd use some lag bolts (making sure you get into something solid behind the wall) -- with some large washers on the inside of the boat. You may have to add some shims (blocks of wood or something) between the wall and the boat so that it hugs close to the wall and gives you a good solid purchase to keep the boat from moving. I'd probably use some sort of sealant (silicone, etc.) to weather seal where the bolts go through the wall.
 
Dans method is what I would do. Be sure to locate studs behind the exterior sheathing (shingles, T-111, etc.) for the lag bolt locations. I would bandsaw a couple supports to the cross section of the hull where the lag bolts need to go to spread the stress around a bit. At least 2 or 3 quarter inch galvanized lag bolts per support. Probably a good idea to paint those supports, or they will rot, having end grain vertical to the Tofino wetness. On the inside, a 10 cm by 10 cm piece of exterior plywood and large washers under each lag bolt head would be good, with a layer of minicell between the plywood and fhe inside of fne hull.

Clear Lexel as caulking to weatherproof the contact with the building so for when you decide to pull it off . 4200, 5200, other heavy duty caulking adhesives are overkill. Lexel sticks well and remains flexible for a long time.
 
I would buy 1/2" threaded rod, 1/2" nuts and washers and 1" pipe. Drill 3/4" holes straight thru both sides of the at 2 places ( front and rear of cockpit). Cut 2 pieces of pipe to fit tight across the Kayak at the holes. Cut 2 pieces of pipe to space the kayak off the wall spaced apart to match the hole centers in the Kayak. Attach the 1/2" threaded rod to the wall or a bracket. Slide the short sections of pipe on the rod and tighten with washer and nuts. Thread a nut on the up to the existing nut and add a washer. Now the tricky part. Use hot melt to secure the 2 pieces of pipe inside the Kayak between the holes. Slide the Kayak on to the Rods. Use washer and nuts the lock the Kayak in place. The pipes will resist the compression without crushing the Kayak.
That is the Idea! The order of assembly could be different. It might be easier to preassemble a bracket to the Kayak, then remove the kayak, mount the bracket with rods attached to the wall. Then slide the kayak on to the rods.
A bracket could be made out of 4x4s.
This would be a cantilevered compression structure.


You might also consider a triangulated tension structure. If you also want to advertise roof racks, you could hook the ends of roof rack cross bars to the wall, mount the kayak, then elevate the kayak with tension cables attached to the outer ends of the bars and as far up the wall as possible. Picture a triangle - the wall one leg, the cross bars one leg, and the tension cable another leg. I like this better then my first idea.

Roy
 
Astoriadave said:
Dans method is what I would do. Be sure to locate studs behind the exterior sheathing (shingles, T-111, etc.) for the lag bolt locations. I would bandsaw a couple supports to the cross section of the hull where the lag bolts need to go to spread the stress around a bit. At least 2 or 3 quarter inch galvanized lag bolts per support. Probably a good idea to paint those supports, or they will rot, having end grain vertical to the Tofino wetness. On the inside, a 10 cm by 10 cm piece of exterior plywood and large washers under each lag bolt head would be good, with a layer of minicell between the plywood and fhe inside of fne hull.

Clear Lexel as caulking to weatherproof the contact with the building so for when you decide to pull it off . 4200, 5200, other heavy duty caulking adhesives are overkill. Lexel sticks well and remains flexible for a long time.
Liam,

Addendum: if you go with the "lag bolt" method, probably makes more sense to deduce locations on the structure for anchoring, fabricate and install the bandsawed supports, placing countersunk screws or counterbored lagbolts into the stud, caulking and painting. THEN place yak on supports and screw it in place with three or four washered pan head screws per support. It would be a real PITA to place the whole thing using lagbolts through the yak and the supports, as I described. A layer of thin minicell between supports and the hull will finesse any minor mismatch in contours.
 
I'd buy two 12" long shelf brackets, mount upside down, say spaced just above each hatch, with a bolt thru each hatchlid with 2x2 below lid across the opening, bolt with hook over or thru shelf bracket.
Paint out shelf bracket to black for contrast if even visible.
 
Roy's idea sounds good as does Mick's. Totally agree with Dave's suggestions as well. All will work -- which way to go depends on how fussy you are about how the apparatus looks behind the boat.

Whatever method you use to hang the boat, you'll need to drill a couple 1/2" holes at the low point of the kayak to evacuate any water that might/will accumulate -- otherwise you'll need much, much larger bolts to do your mounting. :wink:

Liam is the boat going to be oriented on edge or upright (cockpit up)?
 
Slightly off topic ... If there is a local art community or a adventuresome high school art program, you might involve them in designing a unique, eye-catching background on that building.
 
If using the upside down shelf brackets, one could then mount a horizontal sign across the top and slightly articulated upward. A transparent, see-thru, or letter only sign would be best. I could see a black art-nouveau shelf bracket to contrast with the yak.
 

Attachments

  • bracket.jpg
    bracket.jpg
    65.4 KB · Views: 1,342
I'd suspend the kayak from brackets used for hanging baskets. Much more elegant, then a kayak nailed (bolted) to the wall.



Alternatively, I'd cut the kayak into two halves and then attach one to the wall, using one of the methods provided. The one with the compression pipes seems to be the most reasonable one. It would look like a half model of a sailboat.
 

Attachments

  • download.jpeg
    download.jpeg
    1.5 KB · Views: 1,332
Ask and you shall receive!!! :lol: Love this forum!

Yes, many of the suggestions fit what I was thinking...

Whatever I end up doing I'll try and take photos and share after.

Kayak will be mounted on an angle (not up and down, not horizontal) on a SE facing wall (right on the ocean in Tofino). Lots of wind exposure, so needs to be bombproof. The kayak will likely be mounted on its side, so the bottom of the kayak is on the same plane as the wall.

I will likely use Carriage Bolts (or the threaded rod... I like this) as opposed to lag bolts. I have access to the attic so will be able to tighten the bolts after. Than build some sort of wooden spacer block to keep the kayak from touching the building (and allow rain and leaves to shed). Holes through the hull, than a corresponding bracket to sandwich it to the spacer block.

Waterproofing the wall penetrations goes without saying!!! :) As does the drain holes in the hatches.

Okay... I'll share my progress...
 
You could also use a detail similar to mounting a deck ledger to a wall; a round spacer block between the boat and wall is a good idea to shed water. I'm struggling to suppress the builder/designer in me who is trying to turn this into a detail with step-by-step peel-and-stick instructions, especially on an exposed face...*breathe*... :lol:

I'd also suggest a sheet of something mounted inside the cockpit to prevent critters from taking up residence inside...unless you don't mind a family of something (likely birds) moving in. It would also minimize water infiltration.
 
Mount hull vertically for max visual comprehension, lowest insurance costs.
Cut several exterior grade 5/8” or ¾” plywood to 8’ of hull shape using cardboard templates. Glue/bolt together. Paint color of building.
Weld 2 brackets of 2 legs apiece holding plywood mount to wall mount strapping spanning studs mounted to horizontal block T strapped to studs.
Bolt hull to plywood mounting thru 8’ 1/8” aluminum strap.
Add strobes, Solstice spiral lights…
 
In addition to drilling the holes into the hull of the kayak to mount it to your wall, I'd drill several holes through the hull to make it so there would be a lot of work to make the boat sea-worthy again. The additional holes should help reduce the chance of theft if they are obvious.
 
Why mount it to a building when you can do this? :D



James
 

Attachments

  • 1014093_10151728122859758_122880165_n.jpg
    1014093_10151728122859758_122880165_n.jpg
    48.7 KB · Views: 1,171
Astoriadave said:
:big_thumb James, where in the heck is that? The dummy is grotesque, but the concept is outstanding.

Somewhere in Nova Scotia. Photo credit goes to Ryan Brake, in case he is reading this.

James
 
Not worried about theft from the side of the building! There is lots of easier pickings than trying to steal a kayak mounted 20 feet in the air on a building in downtown Tofino!

Good advice folks!
 
Back
Top